Rubber components for use in pneumatic tires typically include various organic-based materials that may be combustible under certain conditions. In particular, on earthmover equipment used to move hot steel slag in steel mills, earthmover tires may contact red-hot slag with temperature in excess of 1000° C. At such temperatures, tires may ignite. Typically, such tires have a significantly shorter useful life, on the order of twenty percent of the tire life seen in normal temperature use.
There is therefore a need for improved tires with resistance to such high temperature environments, as in contact with hot slag, to avoid such a reduction in useful tire life.